Urbanovics defends Usakovs' decision to run in European Parliament elections

2019-02-27

LETA/TBT Staff

Photo: Saeima

RIGA - Harmony’s vice-chairman Janis Urbanovics believes Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs’ (Harmony) has made the right decision by choosing to run in the European Parliament elections.

Urbanovics told LETA that this was the right decision because Usakovs has become a symbolic target of political opponents’ attacks and that he does not want to harm his colleagues in the Riga City Council and his party. Usakovs is therefore “not clinging to his seat and is stepping aside”, which in Urabanovics’ opinion is a “sensible step”.

Urbanovics also emphasized Usakovs’ active cooperation with colleagues in the Party of European Socialists (PES), as well as voiced confidence that he will be a good representative of Latvia in the European Parliament.

Urbanovics declined comments on who might take over from Usakovs as mayor of Riga if Usakovs is elected to the European Parliament.

As for the party’s leadership, Urbanovics said he did not plan on running for Harmony chairman. Urbanovics believes this position should be given to a younger politician like Vjaceslavs Dombrovskis, for instance.

As reported, the Harmony group in the Riga City Council and the board of Honor to Serve Riga (GKR) party are calling for putting Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs and former vice-mayor Andris Ameriks (GKR) on the Harmony ticket for the coming European Parliament elections.

Harmony will decide on approving its ticket for the elections already this Thursday, February 28.

Subscribe!

A subscription to The Baltic Times is a cost-effective way of staying in touch with the latest Baltic news and views enabling you full access from anywhere with an Internet connection. Subscribe Now!

About The Baltic Times

The Baltic Times is an independent monthly newspaper that covers latest political, economic, business, and cultural events in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Born of a merger between The Baltic Independent and The Baltic Observer in 1996, The Baltic Times continues to bring objective, comprehensive, and timely information to those with an interest in this rapidly developing area of the Baltic Sea region. Read more...Our news analysis and commentaries provide readers with insight essential to understanding the three Baltic countries and their neighbors. With offices in Tallinn and Vilnius and its headquarters in Riga, The Baltic Times remains the only pan-Baltic English language newspaper offering complete coverage of regional events.